Free EV Charging station (volta) sighted

[CyberGus]

I found this charging station in Austin yesterday:

It was free, but I'm confused by the business model. I think they run advertisements on the screens (both sides) but that's like 5kw right there lol

 

[anionic1]

Seems like there is a lot of government subsidies coming to the EV world in the next couple years. I am surprised any power is free in Texas though!

 

[Luke42]

I found this charging station in Austin yesterday:

It was free, but I'm confused by the business model. I think they run advertisements on the screens (both sides) but that's like 5kw right there lol

I used one of those in Chicago.

It was used to both sell advertising and to entice people into a Whole Foods.

I imagine both the advertisers and the host-business subsidize the charging.

Costs are kept low by it being a weak L2 charger. It only provided 20 amps, and had a sign requesting that you not stay more than 2 hours. IIRC, it charged my MY at about 20mph.

I needed to be somewhere nearby (not the Whole Foods) for about 4 hours, and so I wasn't able to get enough miles to forgo a Supercharger stop on the way home.

These chargers are great for apartment dwellers to charge your car while they grocery shop. But, in my town, there's a Supercharger at a Meijer, which is better in every way. Meijer sells all the same stuff as Whole Foods at half the price, which more than makes up for having to pay for the Supercharger -- and I've never been able to complete my shopping before my car gets to the charge-limit there.

All in all, I would have found this charger more useful if I could have parked for the entire time I was planning to be there, or if the amperage had been higher. I'm thankful for the free 40 miles, I got though!

Despite their limitations, I'm still very glad these chargers exist!!!

 

[BillyGee]

At where I live there are a ton of chargers all over the wineries and breweries trying to get people to park and hang out for some free juice. I haven't seen any with advertisements up on them though.

 

[greggertruck]

I found this charging station in Austin yesterday:

It was free, but I'm confused by the business model. I think they run advertisements on the screens (both sides) but that's like 5kw right there lol

We have a couple here in PHX, I think it's ads and supplemented by tenants also as a means to attract people to shop?

 

[Crissa]

I found this charging station in Austin yesterday:

It was free, but I'm confused by the business model. I think they run advertisements on the screens (both sides) but that's like 5kw right there lol

The business model is that it doesn't cost much more to add the digital sign than the charger.

They're always busy and often broken, but have sprung up at malls around the country. I have successfully charged at one once.

-Crissa

 

[charliemagpie]

I found this charging station in Austin yesterday:

It was free, but I'm confused by the business model. I think they run advertisements on the screens (both sides) but that's like 5kw right there lol

I love these things.

Shopping Centers could place dozens of them in the more remote parking spots, (we are only talking 50-100 meters) Improving the availability for people who need it,. And at the same time, create car spaces closer to the entrances.

5kw doesn't sound much, but for example, a couple of 1 hour visits per week would be useful for a lot of people.

And the advertising to pay for it all.. A win/win. How good is that!!

 

[Crissa]

And cheap, short-range EVs can use them at the end of longer trips - I can afford to ride my Zero out of its range to go to a mall so equipped.

-Crissa

 

[ldjessee]

The closest to me are 30-35 miles away... and not where I tend to go. And there are only two there and they are the only chargers there... so I could not rely on them and my Leaf in the winter temps I would not trust to make it there and back without charging.

 

[HaulingAss]

Free chargers are nice and all, my local Safeway has a couple, but they are only 30 amps. I tried it once for the novelty of it but it's really not worth the time it takes to plug it in/unplug it unless you were going to be there overnight.

In a dire emergency it would be a godsend, but I've never had a dire emergency. And I don't plan to.

 

[ldjessee]

I did use a free charger at a Kohls in Indianapolis, it allowed me to drive my Leaf, in the winter, 59 miles, charge for the 2 hour limit, and drive back home the 59 miles.

When you battery is small, even a small, slow amount of power helps.

I also bought a hoodie from Kohls. Took me 10 minutes to go through the store and find something I wanted.

At the time, it cost about the same as a tank of gas, but I still use that hoodie 3 years later. Much better deal than a tank of gas.

I am looking forward to the day when you will have choices of where you would like to charge and how fast at your destination.

 

[Crissa]

Free chargers are nice and all, my local Safeway has a couple, but they are only 30 amps. I tried it once for the novelty of it but it's really not worth the time it takes to plug it in/unplug it unless you were going to be there overnight.

In a Model 3 that's almost thirty miles an hour.

For my motorcycle, it's about seventy.

That's more than enough to do your errands with, usually.

'Overnight'.

-Crissa

 

[HaulingAss]

In a Model 3 that's almost thirty miles an hour.

For my motorcycle, it's about seventy.

That's more than enough to do your errands with, usually.

'Overnight'.

-Crissa

I understand that. But when you have 300 miles of range, it's not necessary and I'm still going to have it plugged in when parked in my carport. My shopping only takes 30 minutes maximum and it's not worth it to park in their designated charging stall, blocking someone who might actually need the range boost, just to get $0.20 or $0.30 worth of electricity for free. That's not even enough to cover half a candy bar! I pay $0.09-$0.10/kWh at home. I go to the supermarket for food, not to use their electricity.

 

[HaulingAss]

I did use a free charger at a Kohls in Indianapolis, it allowed me to drive my Leaf, in the winter, 59 miles, charge for the 2 hour limit, and drive back home the 59 miles.

When you battery is small, even a small, slow amount of power helps.

I also bought a hoodie from Kohls. Took me 10 minutes to go through the store and find something I wanted.

At the time, it cost about the same as a tank of gas, but I still use that hoodie 3 years later. Much better deal than a tank of gas.

I am looking forward to the day when you will have choices of where you would like to charge and how fast at your destination.

My brother has Leaf. It's range is down to 65 miles. If I had a Leaf, I would plug in everywhere there was an outlet! I'm glad I don't have to do that!

 

[Crissa]

I understand that. But when you have 300 miles of range...

...you are in a pretty privileged field with a vehicle that cost 4-12x my motorcycle (8-20x what I paid for it) and 2-6x my car.

-Crissa